Anything But Ordinary
by SongsofPsyche1945
Summary: Sequel to "Things I'll Never Say". Stu is getting married in Thailand and Kate once again joins the gang for an incredible adventure through Bangkok.
1. Prologue

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A tropical breeze shifted the bright palm trees, making them wave gracefully across the perfectly green lawns. Elegant white chairs placed 10 in a row gathered flower petals as they blew softly in the wind. Lauren Phu, a vision in her long white bathrobe quietly stared out the window, fingering her veil in one hand and holding her cell to her ear in the other. She swore under her breathe as she once again reached only the voicemail of her absent fiancé;

" _Hi, you've reached the office of Doctor Stuart Price, please note that the office will be closed until the 24th, if this is an emergency please try..."_

" _Hi this is Doctor Stu Price, I'm getting married, so I'll be out of the country for two weeks. I'm not sure if I'll have cell service, if this is a dental emergency ple-_ "

"Shit…" Lauren muttered worriedly wondered where the hell her and his friends were. Literally, the wedding was about to start in a couple of hours and both the groom, and the entire wedding party wasnt present.

"Any luck?" asked Tracy, Lauren only shook her head and sat down on the couch next to her parents.

"Hindi siya darating. Mayroon laming upanh kanselahin." Her father murmured quietly in filipino

"Daddy, please." Lauren interrupted. "You're not helping."

" When I looked into his eyes, not the eyes of a man, the eyes of a coward." Her father spat. Lauren's mother looked at him worriedly.

Suddenly, Tracy Garner's phone began to vibrate, and she quickly excused herself from them and went to stand out on the balcony.

"Phil?" she asked.

" _This is Kate. Again, Tracy. I'm sorry_."

" What? Kate? Where the hell are you? Do you know where Phil and Stu are?"

" _It happened again_."

"Don't say that. Please."

" _No. This time, we really fucked up_."

"Seriously. What is wrong with you?"

" _So much, Trace. I don't even know where to begin_."

"Oh God. How bad? Like, no wedding bad?"

" _Yeah. A little worse than that_. _We still can't find Teddy, and we lost Phil._ "

 _"_ What? You lost Phil and Teddy? What the hell happened?"

 _Actually, lost is a bad word for that. We know where he is, we just can't get to him. It's a really long story-."_

"Well you better start talking."

Tracy sighed, and listened to the other woman on the phone as she explained what happened. How were they going to get out of this one?

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That's the prologue! More to come, I promise!


	2. Chapter 2

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"And I'm like, who is this new girl? When did she start hanging out with us? Honestly, I feel like I've been replaced. It's not fair. None of it is fair." Sarah sniffed and blew her nose in a tissue.

I sighed and blinked back a few tears. I can never stand to see people cry, once one person starts, I can't seem to stop it. It's like a domino reaction. But I guess it's just one of downsides of being a counselor at a middle school. Especially one like this one, private school girls can be really mean!

"It's going to be okay, Sarah. I'm sure your friends haven't forgotten you. They're just excited that Olivia is new. Trust me, in a few weeks it will all be just as it was." I told her.

"But I don't know what to do. Yesterday, I called Paige to see if she wanted to hang out and she said she was busy, but I could hear a playstaion in the background, and the only one in our group who has a playstation is Oliva-I know this because she wont shut up about how her daddy buys everything for her—shes such a spoiled little-."

"Okay, we are all out of time. But next tomorrow I want you to try to talk to Olivia, maybe you have more things I common than you think." I told her, shuffling her papers back into the file on my desk.

"Thank you so much, Ms. Milton. I'll try. I promise. I just don't want to loose my two best friends."

"You wont Sarah, I promise. Now, have a good weekend, and I will see you next week." I told her. She got up and grabbed her backpack from the hook.

"You too, Ms. Milton. Have fun in Thailand."

"Thanks!"

She closed the door softly and I sighed with relief. It was finally Friday. It's amazing how fast the week goes when I'm doing something I love though. These kids may have problems up the kazoo, but I loved each and every one of them.

A small knock on the door brought my attention back to reality.

"Come in!" I shouted

Phil Winnick, my carpool buddy and very close friend entered the office. After that one very memorable weekend in Las Vegas two years ago, Phil and I have been closer than ever. In fact, he was the one that helped me get this job; he worked here too as a 6th grade teacher. This last year was hell for Phil, most of his time was consumed with the nasty legal battle over his son, Eli. The entire trial had been unfair, particularly because Stephanie's lawyer had been my dear Aunt Melissa. Despite all this, Phil still remained happy and upbeat most of the time, as long as no one mentioned Stephanie, Eli, or Briar Ridge.

"Hey Kate, how's everything going?" he asked with a tired smile.

"Hey Phil. Just packing up. How was class?" I asked lightly

"It was the usual. Fridays are always crazy." He answered.

I checked my watch, "Oh my, we have like, 15 minutes to get to your dentist appointment. Come on." I said, grabbing my back.

"Do we have to?"

"Yes. It took me weeks to get this appointment. Stu's a busy man. "

Phil was terrified of the dentist. His fear probably stemmed from Briar Ridge—which he still refused to talk about even though both Stu and I wanted to press charges for malpractice- it was hard to do that when Phil wouldn't talk about it though, so it was put on hold until after Stu's wedding.

"It's just Stu, Phil. It's going to be fine, don't worry. Besides, I have an appointment right after you" I reassured him. Phil nodded, but seemed hesitant.

"Alright. Let's get it over with." He mumbled, opening the door for me.

The car ride over was silent-Phil had gotten a lot quieter since loosing Eli. I could always tell when he was thinking about him because he would play with his still present wedding band. He wore it even though he had been divorced for almost four years now.

"How's dancing going?" Phil asked after a few more silent minutes.

"It's going well. I'm training for the role of Odette right now—for Swan Lake. The performance isn't until December but, it's a lot of pointe work so I'm starting early."

"Swan Lake…isn't that the Black Swan play?" he asked

"Yeah. Yeah it is. But don't worry, I wont become a psychotic killer ballerina. I'm just playing good Odette."

"Im looking forward to that…and Im sure Alan is too. Do you still see him much?"

I had lived with Alan and his family for about 8 months after Doug and Tracy's wedding, until I had enough saved up for my own place. It was amazing how much money I saved when I wasn't give Melissa $200 a week for "rent". I now lived in a modern little townhouse not too far from where Phil's studio was.

"He still shows up at my studio once a week, we go get Vampire Penguin together. He's a weirdo, but he pays every time so I can't say no. Shaved ice is the best."

"That's cool. You haven't said anything about Stu's wedding, right?" Phil asked.

Stu had given us explicit directions to not tell Alan about the wedding being in Thailand.

"My lips are sealed. I do not want to get drugged at Stu's bachelor party."

"Haha. It sounds like something Alan would do."

"Lauren is amazing, isn't she? I am so happy that Stu found the right girl." I said

"Yeah, he did well. " Phil answered

"Why does it have to be all the way in Thailand though? It takes forever to get there. And besides, I'm sort of a nervous flyer" Phil said

"It'll be okay, I promise. We'll keep each other entertained," I told him as we pulled into Stu's dental office.

"Well, here we are. Divine Dentistry. The happiest place on earth." I said flatly, turning the car off.

"So who's going first?" Phil asked

"You are." I answered without missing a beat.

"What!?"

"I made the appointment, _and_ I drove us here. Fair is fair."

"Damn it!" Phil swore.

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"You really need to floss more." Stu said seriously, leering over Phil with a tooth pick. I watched silently and eyed the dental tools. They did not look fun.

"Fuck that." Phil answered sarcastically.

"Everything else looks good. You have any questions?"

"Yeah, actually. Why is Thailand so far away? It takes like 3 weeks to get there." Phil answered, sitting up and taking the dentist bib off.

"Lauren's from there. It's like her homeland. And besides, it only takes 17 hours and it's beautiful when you get there."

"Still, it's a hassle."

"Oh stop your complaining. I can't get married without my best man!" Stu smiled, nudging Phil affectionately on the shoulder.

Stu then straightened up, becoming serious again.

"Oh yeah. Phil, I talked to my friend—the one whose the lawyer—and she gave me this form and wants me to have you to fill it out about what happened at Briar Ridge-."

I immediately saw Phil's spine stiffen.

Stu paused for a moment, but then continued. "if we want those _people_ to get what they deserve for what they did, we have to state exactly what happened. "

Phil nodded and bit the inside of his cheek. Stu sighed and then placed the paper back on the desk.

"I know it's hard for you to think about…" he said in a soft voice, "but it's the only way we can make sure those bastards don't do this to anyone else. I'm going to make a statement too." He finished.

Phil nodded again, but didn't say anything.

I stepped forward, very aware of the tense silence between my two friends.

"It's going to be okay, Phil. I can help you, if you want. We don't have to worry about it until we get back, right?" I asked, looking from Phil to Stu.

Stu nodded, "Yeah. No rush at all. Anyways, Kate! You are up next!" Stu said, clapping his hands. This seemed to snap Phil out of his funk.

"Good luck, Kate. I hope you floss more than I do." He said with a smirk before getting up out of the chair.

I sat down nervously. "No offense Stu, but I hate the dentist. Try to be gentle, okay?" I asked, looking up at him.

Stu laughed manically and pulled out the largest dental drill on his tray.

"Don't worry, this wont hurt at all!" he chuckled.

I flinched out of the chair and took a few steps towards the door.

"WHAT?! You said it was only a check up!"

"Hey, how do I work this thing?"

"Phil. You don't. Kate, I'm kidding. Sit back down, its going to be fine. Jeez you guys are a bunch of babies. It's the dentist, not the room of torture." Stu grumbled, shaking his head.

"Aww just one hit!"

"Absolutely not."

The rest of the appointment went without a hitch—with the exception of Phil trying to steal Stu's prescription pad (he swore it was just a joke). As we were leaving, Stu handed me the yellow envelope.

"Make sure he does it, Kate. I think it'll be good for him, get him the closure he deserves. Oh, and on a completely different subject, my bachelor party is going to be tomorrow morning at the IHOP on 5th street. I know you are neither a man, nor a bachelor, but it wouldn't feel right without you." He said with a smile.

I nodded, " Sure thing. We'll see you then."

I kept the bajillion jabs about how lame an IHOP bachelor party was to myself and just smiled.

"Thanks Kate, you're the best."

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Thanks so much for reading! Please please please review! The more reviews I get, the faster the chapters will come!


	3. Chapter 3

"No fucking way." Stu stated dramatically, shaking his head. "Absolutely not."

I sipped my orange juice as I looked back and forth between Doug and Stu.

Doug had just casually mentioned inviting Alan to the wedding.

"Come on Stu"It's killing him." Doug argued

"I don't care!" Stu replied

. "Honestly, the two of you were barely invited."

"Hey! What about Kate?" Phil spoke up.

"Oh, she's been invited this whole time, and that only was because she didn't try to get me killed last time we had a bachelor party." Stu answered, giving me a smile.

"Alright, I get it. I really do, it's just, you know what, Alan considers you to be one of his best friends." Doug said.

Stu placed his juice back on the table and replied, "I consider Alan to be insane."

"Stu come on, throw him a bone." Doug continued

" his dad promised he would pay for everything he eats, everything he breaks. Oh and you know what, we should squeeze to see if the old man could cover the bachelor party."

I stifled a laugh. They still didn't know that _this_ was the bachelor party.

"I'm glad you brought the bachelor party up, because this is the bachelor party." he said, with a tired smile

"What?" Doug asked puzzled.

Phil turned to him, "What are you talking about?"

"Yup, it's my bachelor brunch. Go crazy. Let's get some chocolate chip pancakes, lap dance from the waitress."

Phil sighed and rubbed his face while Doug threw his spoon on the table and leaned back saying, "That's crazy! This is not going to be your bachelor party. You deserve so much more than this. We all do. We need to celebrate! God knows we've deserved it."

Stu nodded, I knew he was thinking about Phil, and what he—all of us—had to go through with the trial over Eli. It wasn't easy for Stu to see Melissa in court, trying to take his best friend's child away from him.

"I know. I know. But, I'm still trying to put my broken psyche together after what happened in Vegas. And you know what the glue is? Lauren. I'm not going to mess this us.

"And I understand that completely, but you should job yourself out of an important right of passage." Doug continued to argue.

"Oh like yours went so well to begin with. The only successful bachelor party we threw was for Phil, and that was like 10 years ago. And look how that marriage turned out-sorry Phil- I say we abandon the tradition all together." Stu said with a smile, biting into his pancake.

Doug smiled, "yeah that was pretty great. We went to Cabo for the weekend" He reminisced

"Remember when I put that iguana in your bag and blamed in on Juan." He laughed

"Oh yeah. Poor bastard never saw it coming." Stu laughed

"Okay guys, you gotta fill me in on this one." I added in, "There was an iguana?"

"Yup. The only bachelor party I actually remember. Good times, right Phil?" Stu said

Phil smiled, "Yeah, those were pretty good times. But I don't think a marriage is based off of the bachelor party. Doug and Tracey are doing so great right now, with the baby coming. Maybe we shouldn't jinx it."

"Alright! IHOP bachelor party it is! Where's that menu? I think I want some chocolate chip pancakes!" I said excitedly, hoping my enthusiasm would turn the subject away from Phil's failed marriage.

"So, if we argee to have this be the bachelor party, can you please help me out with this Alan thing. Tracey says he's really upset that he's not invited." Doug said, looking over at Stu.

Stu sighed.

"Alright. But one little mistake, one little quirk and he's gone. Im holding you full responsible, Doug."

Doug smiled, "It's a deal. Now, where are those pancakes?"

Stu waited until Phil had gotten up to go to the bathroom to talk to me.

"Hey Kate. I gotta tell you something." He said, looking serious.

"Yeah?"

"Lauren is great. She really is. She's like the best thing that has ever happened to me. And before I tell you, I just want you to know that I had absolutely no idea that she would do this, nor did she know anything about what's been going on with Phil-."

"Stu, what are you talking about?" I cut him off, trying to get him to get to the point.

"Well, you see….at USC, Lauren was in a sorority—Delta Kamma Something or Another—and apparently it's tradition to have your sorority sisters as your bridesmaids."

"Yes?"

"Stephanie was in her sorority and now she's in the wedding." Stu blurted out super fast.

"What?!"

"I know. _I know._ I was so stupid to not pay more attention to the bride-wedding stuff. But one of the girls got sick last minute and couldnt fly out so Lauren called Stephanie to take her place. And just to clarify, Lauren didn't know that this was Phil's Stephanie or else she would have never done it. The bridal party flew out yesterday so she's already there. Kate, I swear-."

"So Stephanie is going to be at the wedding?" I asked

"Yes."

"Is she bringing Eli?"

"I don't know. Maybe?"

"How could you let this happen, Stu! You know how sensitive Phil is about her. You know what she did to him. How could this happen? What are we going to do?" I asked, starting to feel a little panicky.

"I know, I know, I know. Shhhhh here he comes. Not a word, we'll figure this out later." Stu mumbled, and then smiled as Phil once again took his seat.

"Hey Phil, how's it going?"

Phil smiled, "So far, so good. I'm really excited about Thailand. Man, I was reading up about the beaches there and it looks really nice."

"Well, we're definitely going to have a lot of beach time."

"Yup."

I just kept smiling and reached for the syrup. This was going to be an interesting/stressful couple days.

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Short one tonight, more will be up tomorrow. Thank you for the reviews, keep them coming!


	4. Chapter 4

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"Alright! Let's go!" Alan cheered. He grabbed his bags and walked inside. We all followed him. Stu, Phil and myself were walking in the front as Doug, and Tracey, with Alan in the lead . He was wearing all white and was smoking a pipe.I rolled my eyes and looked up at the information board that showed when all flights were leaving and arriving.

Copenhagen 2:35 -

New York 2:50 -

Bangkok 3:15 - -on time

Montreal 3:20 -

Mexico City 3:45 -

Vancouver 3:55 - 5:55 - delayed

Phil looked at his ticket and nodded in confirmation. We were all set to fly to Bangkok!

"Hey! There he is!" Stu spoke happily and raised his arms. A boy, maybe 15 or 16 looked at us and smiled.

"Hey Stu." He said. They embraced happily.

"Teddy, what's up? How are you?" Stu asked and patted his back.

"Who's this guy Stu?" Alan asked, staring at Teddy.

Stu rolled his eyes at him., "This is Teddy, Lauren's little brother. He goes to Stanford, pre med." He turned back to Teddy and gestured to each one of us. "This is Phil, Kate, Doug, Tracy and Alan."

"Nice to meet you man." Doug said and he shook his hand.

"Wow. Stanford?" IPhil asked pretty impressed. Teddy looked at him. "How old are you?"

"He's 17 and kind off a genius." Stu answered for Teddy

"Well actually I'm 16." Teddy answered shyly. "And I'm not a genius. My dad just had me take the entrance exams early."

"Because you're a genius." Stu pointed out.

, "So what are you? A doctor?" Alan asked, not impressed.

"No, not yet. I'm pre med." Teddy answered.

"Ever heard of that guy Doogie Howser?" Alan asked.

Teddy nodded, "Yeah?"

"Well, he turned out to be a gay." Alan spoke.

"Alan." Stu warned him.

"It's true, I read it in teen people." Alan replied. I just laughed and turned back to Teddy.

"Don't listen to Alan. He's just messing with you." I smiled.

Teddy smiled back at me, "Thanks. well okay, I'm gonna grab a book or something for the plane. You guys want anything?" Teddy asked us. We all shook our heads except for Stu.

"Well I would actually love a smart water." Stu said. Teddy nodded and walked towards the store.

Stu then turned to Alan and spoke, "What's the matter with you? He's 16 years old."

"Yeah Alan, take it easy." Phil added.

"I'm a little confused, is he just here to see us off or what?" Alan asked "How does this work?"

"How does what work?" Doug asked confused.

"Is that person coming to the wedding?" Alan whined.

I tried very hard not to role my eyes..

"Yes Alan, my bride's little brother is coming to the wedding." Stu answered his question,

"Is that okay with you?"

Alan grabbed his sunglasses and put them on, "Oh, it's the first time I've heard of it. You could've paged me." After glaring at Stu, Alan walked away from us and to the seats.

"Just relax. It's gonna be fine." Doug mumbled to Stu before following Alan and sitting down across from him.

Phil and I sat down next to Doug.

I knew Phil was nervous about flying, so I pulled out my stress doll for him.

"Hey Phil. This is John. He's fun to squeeze." I said

"That's what she said." Alan said automatically, not looking up from his phone.

"What? Ahh nevermind. Anyway I thought he could be your buddy for the flight, see?" I squeezed John a couple times, and he puffed out, turning from red to blue and back again.

Phil took John and laughed, "Oh my god, this is the best thing ever. Where did you find this thing?" he asked, squeezing John and watching his head expand.

"I found him online. He is the only reason I got through finals when I was getting my masters."

"Hahah, well good job John, you helped make one great counselor, and ballet dancer." Phil told him.

I smiled. My job was to keep Phil preoccupied with stuff so he wouldn't freak out about Stephanie also being in the wedding party. Poor Lauren was in a tizzy, trying to reorganize everything so there wouldn't be any drama between them. According to Stu, Lauren made Steph promise to behave, so we're hoping that nothing goes wrong.

"I packed my pointe shoes, just in case there is a need for some impromptu dancing." I added, patting my carry on bag.

He squeezed John a couple more times.

"You're right, Kate. This does help. When do we board again? How long is this flight?" Phil asked, suddenly becoming nervous.

"It's a little under seventeen hours—but do not worry. I checked online and the inflight entertainment is excellent. Oh, and I have one more surprise for you." I smiled, and then held up our tickets.

"I banked in all of my frequent flyer points and upgraded us to first class." I told excitedly. Phil grinned.

"Oh wow. You are really the best, Kate. Thank you so much!" he said, and I knew he meant it.

"We are the last to board, but first to get off the plane. This is a newer model, so I was able to book us those cool pod seats that turn into beds. This is gonna be awesome, I am really excited." I told him.

Phil smiled, "For the first time, I think I am actaullt looking forward to getting on a plane."

"Me too!"

I exhaled, and felt a little better about the long flight a head of me. I knew at some point in the trip, I had to speak with Phil about Stephanie, who was going to be at the hotel, but I had 17 hours to get to it.

I watched contently as Teddy walked back over to us. He pointed to the seat next to Alan,

"Anyone mind if I sit here?"

"Wolfpack only." Alan mumbled shortly. "Find another chair."

Stu put his book down and glared at Alan.

"There's no wolfpack." Stu told him.

"It's no problem, I can find-" Teddy started

"Teddy, don't be ridiculous." Stu said. He grabbed Alan's bag and threw it off the chair. "You're sitting here."

"Careful! That's a Louis-!" As the bag hit the floor, Alan turned to Stu and spoke again, "That is a Louis Vuitton!"

I just rolled me eyes. Oh Alan.

Teddy gave Stu his water and sat down on the chair, between Stu and Alan. He awkwardly stared in front of him.

"That's a nice neckroll." Alan said blankly.

"Thanks." Teddy replied. "You can use it if you want?"

"Okay." Alan examined it for a few seconds and then threw it behind him, staring Teddy in the eye as he did so.. Alan raised his eyebrows, and then grabbed his headphones and placed it on his ears, listening to his music.

I stood up and quickly grabbed the neck roll before it got trembled by other travelers. Dusting it off, I handed it back to Teddy.

He smiled at me shyly, "Thanks."

"No problem at all. You'll have to excuse Alan, he's a little eccentric. But under all that crazy, he really is a good guy. I'm Kate by the way, Stu's friend." I said, extending out my hand.

"Nice to meet you, Kate. Have you been to Thailand before?" he asked.

Stu shifted over in his seat so I could perch next to Teddy. I could already see Stu's stamp of approval. He really wanted Teddy to feel like he was included.

I shook me head, "First time for me."

Teddy smiled, "It really is beautiful. I grew up there, then moved to the States when I got accepted into Stanford."

"Wow, Stanford. That's pretty impressive. What are you studying there?" I asked

"I'm premed—but not like Doogie Howser." He added sheepishly.

"That's really incredible."

"I guess. My dad really wants me to become a surgeon, but I don't think I'll be able to handle the pressure, to be honest."

"Oh?" I asked, suddenly feeling like I was at work again.

"I've always just wanted to make video games. But he'll never let me switch majors." He said sadly, staring down at his hands.

"Well, let me tell you what I tell all of my students-I'm a counselor, by the way-. You do what makes you happy, because the only person it really matters to is you. And that doesn't necessarily mean only doing one thing; I can totally tell you are an awesome gamer, and you could also be a brilliant surgeon. But the most important thing to remember is to do what makes you happy." I told him with a smile.

Then I laughed, "Sorry, that's a lot to hear just in an airport."

Teddy smiled, "Actually, that is the first time a counselor has told me something that makes sense. You're pretty cool."

"Thanks"

"So, I take it you are a friend of Stu's? How do you know him?" Teddy asked.

"It's a very long story. Let's see….I am the niece of his ex-girlfriend, we became friends when I helped rescue his other friend Doug from Las Vegas during his bachelor party. Stu's a great guy, I'm so happy I got to know him."

I gave Stu an affectionate shove and Stu smiled.

"Well, Kate's an amazing woman. She went to Stanford too, you know."

"Only for my masters. I did my undergrad at Davis." I answered.

"That's still impressive."

"Thanks, Stu."

Just then, an announcement sounded through the airport that our plane was about to start boarding. I stood up, stretched, and then grabbed my bag.

"Alright, let's do this!"

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I apologize for the large time gap. I hope you enjoyed this chapter though! More will be up soon!


	5. Chapter 5

The flight was less painful than I had imagined. Sitting in first class really help though. I was actually able to get a decent amount of sleep, and the food was excellent.

Phil (under my supervision) had taken some nyquil and was out for the majority of the flight and I let him sleep. We all knew he needed the rest.

Even though the flight went fairly smoothly, I was still exhausted by the time we got to the hotel. Was Alan really wearing those sunglasses or was I imagining it? It all seemed very surreal; that I was in Thailand, that the water was so blue, that the trees were so green. I felt slightly high.

"Hahahaha mortgages." I heard myself mutter.

"What?" Phil asked?

My eyes went wide. Did I really just laugh at myself?

"Oh um...pretty...trees?" I said, pointing.

Phil gave me a quizzical look.

"Are you sure you're okay?"

"Hahaha birds...what? Yeah. I'm good. Man, jetlag hits you quick, doesn't it?"

"Yeah. I'm exhausted too." Phil answered.

We were ll in a little car together. Stu sat upfront, Phil and I were in the middle, Doug, Alan, Tracy and Tedi were squished in the back.

Stu turned around, and smiled at us.

"I am so happy you all are here." He said

"Me too, it really is beautiful here." I replied.

The car pulled into the resort, and stopped by the lobby.

"Welcome to the Hilton" the driver said as he stopped the car.

We all stumbled out, feeling slightly dazed.

I checked in at the front desk. Phil and I were bunking together for the wedding—in separate beds, of course.

"You look sexy in that hat." Phil told me as we walked towards the elevator.

My hat was incredibly nerdy, but it was the only one I could find. It had a neck flap, and a neck tie.

"I sun burn easily." I replied

"You should wear it to the wedding."

"not a chance, phil. No offense, Kate." Stu chimed in.

"Hahaha very funny." I replied.

As we exited the elevator I heard someone shout "baby!", there was a flash of black hair and Lauren was in Stu's arms.

Stu smiled as he hugged her tight. He actually glowed.

"Hey" he whispered into her hair.

"How was the flight?" She asked

"Not as terrible as expected. It was worth it, seeing you." Stu said. Then he kissed her on the cheek.

Lauren smiled, then turned to us.

"Hi Teddy, Alan, Kate, Phil. I am so glad you all could make it!"

"Thank you for inviting us, it's beautiful here." I replied.

Lauren smiled. She had I had gotten to know each other over the past few months. She was also a dance. In fact, we had worked on the same show, Cinderella two years ago and we just never crossed paths.

We had gotten particularly close after one night where she had spent four hours folding placeholders, only to realize they all said "Stew and Loren" instead of "Stuart and Lauren". She had tried to call Stu, but he had been in the ER with Phil (more on that later) so he called me and asked me to help her. I had gone over, and we ended up staying awake the entire night, laughing and talking. She was perfect for Stu; kind, funny, generous, everything that Melissa wasn't. And she was great with Phil, who needed all the support he could get while he went through the child custody trials.

Lauren pulled me into a hug.

"Kate, I'm so glad you are here. Everything feels so much better when you are here." She said

"I'm happy to be here, it will be a beautiful wedding." I answered.

"Aright. I'll let you all settle in. The rehearsal dinner starts at 7:00pm, down in the restaurant. Kate, can I talk to you real quick?" She asked. I nodded and handed Phil the key.

"Room 205. Go ahead, I'll be there in a few minutes." I told him. He nodded sleepily, and walked towards the room. Teddy and Alan followed, heading to their own rooms.

Lauren waited until the hallway was silent, then she turned to me and Stu.

"She's here. With Eli. And she knows that he is here too. She doesn't want to see him. I'm so sorry." She looked like she really felt bad.

"Its okay. We can do this. Phil doesn't know, and he doesn't have to know. It will kill him." Stu said.

"Unfortunately for her, and maybe fortunately for us, she told me she wasn't feeling well. I told her to skip the rehearsal dinner and rest. We will do something together in the morning." Lauren said

Stu nodded, "Good."

"She will probably stay with Eli. He's what? 6?" Lauren asked

I nodded, "She should stay with him."

"Good"

She pointed in the direction that Phil went, "Is he okay? How was the flight?"

"He's okay. I pulled all my miles and bumped us to first class. He was excited about that."

"That's good." Lauren said

"You are great with him, Kate. I don't know how you do it. She got him to go to his dentist appointment without a complete meltdown." Stu said, putting his hand on my shoulder.

"That's so great." Laruen said

Just then the elevator doors opened, and the previous Stephanie Winnick stepped out.

At first glance, Stephanie looked like a normal woman of thirty. Blonde hair, blue eyes, nice makeup. She wore yoga pants and a light blue workout shirt. When she saw us, she paused. Her eyes lited on the elevator buttons and it seemed like she was tempted to just go back up to the 3rd floor. She took a deep breath, and then flashed us a hard smile.

"Hello Stu, Kate." She said

"Hey Lauren." She added, in a warmer voice.

"Are you feeling better?" Lauren asked

Steph shrugged, "I thought I'd try to sweat it off."

"Don't push yourself too much. I want you better for the wedding."

"Thanks."

She held her head up high, and then walked past us. The minute she was gone, the tension in the room melted. I let out a breath, one that I didn't even know I was holding.

"They cannot see each other." Stu said

"It will kill him, and destroy all the progress we made." He added.

"I know" I said, "They won't. Between you, me and Doug we will keep them separate."

"What about the wedding?" Lauren asked

Steph was a bridesmaid, and Phil was the best man. There were going to see each other at some point.

"I'll talk to him in the morning. Thatll give him enough time to process it. He should be fine."

Lauren nodded, but she still looked worried.

Stu leaned in to hug her.

"It will be okay. Everything will be okay."

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	6. Chapter 6

A few hours later, Phil and I sat by the pool in the lounge chairs, enjoying the shade, and watching Doug swim in the pool. He kept splashing Tracey, who was sitting on the edge of the pool wearing a large hat and trying to read a magazine. We had the entire afternoon to relax before the rehearsal dinner started at 7:30. The wedding wasn't actual happening until the day after tomorrow. Stu had insisted that the wedding be on a Sunday. So today—Friday—was the rehearsal dinner, tomorrow—Saturday—would be a free day, and the wedding would be on Sunday. I was tempted to join Doug in the pool, but I had always been shy wearing bathing suits, and thought it would be best to keep Phil company. I was on high Stephanie alert. Even though she has promised to keep her distance until the wedding, I still didn't trust her. Doug and Tracey were on high alert too, and it made be feel safer knowing that they were also there to interfere if the worst should happen. I always felt safer knowing that Doug was close by. He was the one who could calm Phil down the fastest, to get him to agree to something he didn't want to do, or to bring him back to the present when he got lost in his thoughts.

Phil was attempting to grade papers, but he kept getting distracted. Every time a child ran by he would he look up and flinch. Eli being taken away had hit him hard; harder than any of had anticipated. We knew it was unfair, anybody could see how much he loved his son. But the judge had ruled on Stephanie's side, and there was nothing we could do about it. My attempts at distracting him were failing miserably. He was too on edge, looking at the other families by the poolside.

"Anyway, so I put some cheese on it and then it turned into a pineapple…..achoo." I sneezed, making Phil jump.

He laughed, "Sorry, you did what?"

"It turned into a pineapple." I answered

"….in my dream. The coffeepot turned into a pineapple. I was looking it up in my dream dictionary, and it turns out that that particular scenario means I will one day become a fruit farmer. What do you think?" I asked.

Before he had the chance to respond, I heard a voice that made my blood run cold.

"Daddy?"

I looked up to see six year old Eli standing at the foot of Phil's lounge chair.

Phil froze for a moment, and then his face broke into a smile.

"Eli? Hey buddy? What are you doing here?" he asked

"I'm here with mommy, for the wedding." Eli answered

Once again, Phil froze. I could see him struggling to accept this new information. I looked around, trying to see where Doug and Tracey where but I couldn't find them.

"Phil…" I started

"I didn't know Mommy was coming to the wedding." Phil said quietly, cutting me off.

Then Eli did the best—or possibly the worst thing he could do. He reached forward, throwing himself at Phil into a huge bear hug.

"I miss you, Daddy." Eli said

"I've missed you too, buddy." Phil replied, wrapping his arms around his son.

"Eli?" another voice said, and I saw Stephanie walking over.

"Eli? Come here." She said. She stopped, she looked at me and then at Phil. Her face hardened into a glare.

"Get away from him."

She pulled Eli's arm, tearing him away from his father and shoving him behind her.

"Do not touch my son." She snarled.

Phil stood up, his face darkening with menace. Stephanie visibly flinched and took a step backwards from him.

"I wasn't doing anything. He came to me." Phil said, pointing to Eli.

"I can hardly believe that. You knew he was here, you knew we would come down-."

"I had no idea! What the hell are you doing here, Stephanie?" Phil asked, cutting her off.

"Havnt you heard? I'm in the wedding. Or did Stu forget to tell you."

Phil's face blanched.

"Little Stewie didn't tell you?" Stephanie mocked.

"No…."

"Was little Stewie afraid of how you would react? Was he too scared?"

"Stop it." Phil said quietly.

I stood up, and steppe between them.

"Stephanie…." I started

"Was he afraid that his crazy friend would handle seeing the wife he abused? Was Stewie worried that his crraaazzzyyyy friend was going to ruin his wedding?" Steph continued in a mocking voice, ignorning me.

"Stop." Phil said again, this time louder.

"Or what? You'll hit me? No wait, you already did that." Stephanie said, her voice getting louder.

I knew Stephanie was wrong. I knew she was twisting what really happened, but it was still hard to hear it out loud. It was still hard to hear that Phil—wonderful, kind, nice, Phil—had been arrested and sentenced to six months in a mental institution for becoming so angry he hit his wife—and the douchebag she was sleeping with. They were both victims, and it was heartbreaking for me to watch the scene unfolding in front of me.

Phil took a step toward her. I stepped in front of him.

"Phil…"

"Stay out of this, Kate."

"Phil…"

"Stop!" he shouted loudly. By now people were staring at us.

"If I ever see you touch or come near my son again, I will have you arrested." Stephanie said hotly. At this point, Eli had started crying.

"Everyone stop! Please." Phil pleaded, he grabbed his head with his hands, folding in on himself.

I reached out to touch Phil, only as a gesture of reassurance.

"You're going to be okay. Let's go back in to the-."

"No! Stop!" He shouted. This time he shoved me hard. I tripped backwards over the lounge chair

I tried to steady myself to prevent from falling more, but he had shoved me hard. I felt myself grabbing at nothing but air as I fell backwards. The last thing I remembered was searing pain, cold and then darkness.

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